During a $20 rebuy
tournament last night, a debate came up about pushing all-in with a sizeable
stack pre-flop when the blinds and antes were small enough that the player in
question wasn’t considered truly short stacked.
There were actually three moments of said player pushing all-in pre-flop
(or not doing so when the situation actually called for it) with so much at
stake and so little to win that I wanted to discuss each one in detail.
The first instance
of pushing his stack was with the blinds at 50-100, no antes, and the rebuys
were still available. He had $4,000 in
chips (which we started with $7,500) and with the two blinds and a limper
already in the pot ($250) he shoved it all in.
He never showed the hand but it was eventually explained that he had
something close to K-J suited. Risking
$4,000 to win $250, even with rebuys still available, isn’t a good bet in my
opinion. Everyone ended up folding and
he did win the pot, but he could have accomplished the same goal and risked far
less money had it resulted in somebody actually waking up with a hand worth
calling.
The second moment
of discussion took place during the same blind level, with rebuys still an
option. The player in question still had
approximately $4,000 in chips and after the guy in the big blind tried to raise
out of position, this player folded pocket twos without ever putting any money
in the pot. It went around to the big
blind, who then did raise it to $350.
With the ability to still rebuy and the knowledge that the big blind is
going to raise, I think calling the $100, letting it get around to the big
blind to raise it another $250 and then making a move then is the smarter play.
The outcome works
in your favor by playing it deceitfully. If you make the re-raise of either an all-in,
which I wouldn’t do, or bumping it anywhere from $800-1,200 you now get a few
options to win the hand. You could
either win it right there with everyone folding to your re-raise or win it with
a bet (as long as you haven’t gone all in) on the flop whether you hit or not. Even being called for an all-in at some point
isn’t the worst thing in the world as you could win the hand at a showdown or
rebuy and start with a fresh $7,500 should you lose,
By limping with the
first bet, knowing it is going to be raised behind you, and then making a
re-raise after the big blind raises, you are winning at minimum $550 (small
blind called the $100, big blind’s $350, and your $100). Playing the hand this way makes more sense if
you are trying to either double up or rebuy as fast as possible.
The final situation
was when the player held A-10 offsuit and pushed all in pre-flop for
$3,600. Blinds at that point were
$100-200 with a $25 ante and the rebuy period was over. Losing would knock him out of the
tournament. With $3,600 in chips, in my
opinion, it is too early to push everything pre-flop without a raise ahead of
you. It would take a really bad player
or somebody with so many chips that losing $3,600 was meaningless to make a
call with something worse than A-10 when there is only $400 in the pot prior to
the all-in raise.
With the big blind
at $200, you can make a raise of $600-800 and if you get a caller or two then
you still have $2,800-3,000 in chips if you lose the hand and not put any more
money in. Yes, after that you would need
to start thinking about being in all-in mode, but with $3,600 I believe it is
simply too much to lose and too little to win for an all-in pre-flop raise. Maybe if rebuys are still going on that raise
would be okay, but when you are risking your tournament life on A-10 offsuit
and the money out in the pot would only increase your stack by 11 percent it
doesn’t make sense to me.
I guess what all
this boils down to is risk versus reward.
Is the money you are risking worth as much as what the reward is? To me, his decisions to push all in with so
much money at stake and so little to win were poor financial decisions at the
poker table. But in all honesty, what do
I know. Small stakes rebuy tournaments
are my Achilles heel right now. Maybe my
thinking is completely wrong and that is why I rarely finish in the money at
these things.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
WinStar, Weatherford, Granbury (One Loss, Two Wins)
In 2013 I've played cards three times, once at WinStar, again in Weatherford, and finally in Granbury. The Granbury game is new for me, but it consists of mostly the same people as Weatherford on a smaller scale.
I lost $300 at WinStar in my first game. I won $220 in Weatherford. I won $350 in Granbury. All of this has resulted in starting off 2013 with a profit of $270.
The one hand worth discussing thus far is one I folded on the flop and I have no idea if I made a good fold or not. I think it was a smart fold, but not sure if it was the correct one. I started with 5-3 of clubs. I was the small blind and completed my bet after two other players called for $2. The big blind checked and the flop came out J-5-3 with two diamonds and a spade.
With bottom two pair, I led out for $10 into an $8 pot. This was an overbet, but I didn't want those with a flush draw to see a $6 or $8 bet and call despite the odds to not do so. Making a double digit bet would run away flush draws.
The big blind folded, one player called, and the last player raised it to $40 total. It was now $30 more to me. I believed I was in the lead at this point, however, after contemplating the situation I opted to fold. The following are my reasons:
1. The player who raised had about $400 in front of him and I had a little more. If things went past the flop it was likely going to be a very expensive hand and I wouldn't be sure I had the best hand by the end unless I hit another five or three. I could raise another $60-90 and possibly win it right there, but if he called or raised I would have to shut things down at that point and not feel good to any future bets.
2. Being the small blind, I would be in poor position for the rest of the hand.
3. I had another player behind me who could be slow-playing something big or would call on a flush draw if I called and then I'm still going up against the draw that I was trying to avoid.
All this combined made me decide to fold and wait for a safer spot to gamble my money. The player behind me also folded and the turn and river were shown to be a four and two. This meant an ace or six had a straight. I felt I would have not had the best hand by the end and folding was the safer play.
You might disagree with my play, but bottom two pair in that situation was good, not great. Oh well. I still ended up with $450 in front of me. After starting with only $100, my profit for the night was $350 and my beginning in Granbury has started off well.
I lost $300 at WinStar in my first game. I won $220 in Weatherford. I won $350 in Granbury. All of this has resulted in starting off 2013 with a profit of $270.
The one hand worth discussing thus far is one I folded on the flop and I have no idea if I made a good fold or not. I think it was a smart fold, but not sure if it was the correct one. I started with 5-3 of clubs. I was the small blind and completed my bet after two other players called for $2. The big blind checked and the flop came out J-5-3 with two diamonds and a spade.
With bottom two pair, I led out for $10 into an $8 pot. This was an overbet, but I didn't want those with a flush draw to see a $6 or $8 bet and call despite the odds to not do so. Making a double digit bet would run away flush draws.
The big blind folded, one player called, and the last player raised it to $40 total. It was now $30 more to me. I believed I was in the lead at this point, however, after contemplating the situation I opted to fold. The following are my reasons:
1. The player who raised had about $400 in front of him and I had a little more. If things went past the flop it was likely going to be a very expensive hand and I wouldn't be sure I had the best hand by the end unless I hit another five or three. I could raise another $60-90 and possibly win it right there, but if he called or raised I would have to shut things down at that point and not feel good to any future bets.
2. Being the small blind, I would be in poor position for the rest of the hand.
3. I had another player behind me who could be slow-playing something big or would call on a flush draw if I called and then I'm still going up against the draw that I was trying to avoid.
All this combined made me decide to fold and wait for a safer spot to gamble my money. The player behind me also folded and the turn and river were shown to be a four and two. This meant an ace or six had a straight. I felt I would have not had the best hand by the end and folding was the safer play.
You might disagree with my play, but bottom two pair in that situation was good, not great. Oh well. I still ended up with $450 in front of me. After starting with only $100, my profit for the night was $350 and my beginning in Granbury has started off well.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Weatherford (December 8)
Last Saturday was the final game in Weatherford for the year, and I ended on a high for 2012. Winning $210 for the evening put me in second place for most money won this year among the group who plays in my favorite home cash game. A guy named Brandon earned more than $2,200 this year and I finished with a profit of $1,690 in a total of 12 games.
For the entire year thus far I have profited $1,365 and am hoping to play one more time before 2013 rolls around. Unfortunately, I don’t have any great hands from the night to discuss. I did make one really good call with top pair, seven kicker on the river against a player I read as bluffing. My call paid off as he didn’t have the pair of aces beat. It was a good read on my part and I was proud of myself for trusting my gut.
On Saturday, I played for 8.25 hours, resulting in a $25.46 hourly rate. I’ve had a good year, but didn’t play as many hours as I planned or won as much money as I would have liked.
Whether I play one final time or not, I will do a yearly recap on my games and update how much I won and the hourly rate for the year. It will be interesting to see how this year compares with the past three years that I have been keeping up seriously with my poker play.
For the entire year thus far I have profited $1,365 and am hoping to play one more time before 2013 rolls around. Unfortunately, I don’t have any great hands from the night to discuss. I did make one really good call with top pair, seven kicker on the river against a player I read as bluffing. My call paid off as he didn’t have the pair of aces beat. It was a good read on my part and I was proud of myself for trusting my gut.
On Saturday, I played for 8.25 hours, resulting in a $25.46 hourly rate. I’ve had a good year, but didn’t play as many hours as I planned or won as much money as I would have liked.
Whether I play one final time or not, I will do a yearly recap on my games and update how much I won and the hourly rate for the year. It will be interesting to see how this year compares with the past three years that I have been keeping up seriously with my poker play.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Casa de Cook ($20 re-buy tournament)
In an attempt to bring poker back to Arlington, we held a home game tournament last night at my new house and had eight players show for the event. That is the most we have had for a game like this in a long, long time.
The structure was slightly different than our old games in that we only started with $7,500 in chips ($10,000 is the norm) and the blinds started at $25-50 with re-buys being allowed for the first four rounds. Rounds lasted 30 minutes each.
I want to start keeping track of who re-buys, who goes out when, and other things about these games to see if there is a pattern. The following is the structure of the tournament, when re-buys took place and players eliminated.
$25-50: No rebuys
$50-100: 2 re-buys (Josh, Matt)
$75-150: 1 re-buy (Hector)
$100-200: 4 re-buys (Bart, Slope, Bart, James)
$150-300: Hector eliminated
$200-400
$250-500: Josh eliminated, Slope eliminated
$300-600: Bart eliminated, Danny eliminated
$400-800: Matt eliminated
James had the lead going into heads-up play with Clint, so they chopped the pot $175-125. It was supposed to be split $200-100.
The official standings look like this:
1st - James
2nd - Clint
3rd - Matt (same bubble spot as always)
4th - Danny
5th - Bart
6th - Slope
7th - Josh
8th - Hector
We had a good time and everyone said they want to make this a normal thing. Hopefully we can get a game together once or twice a month.
The structure was slightly different than our old games in that we only started with $7,500 in chips ($10,000 is the norm) and the blinds started at $25-50 with re-buys being allowed for the first four rounds. Rounds lasted 30 minutes each.
I want to start keeping track of who re-buys, who goes out when, and other things about these games to see if there is a pattern. The following is the structure of the tournament, when re-buys took place and players eliminated.
$25-50: No rebuys
$50-100: 2 re-buys (Josh, Matt)
$75-150: 1 re-buy (Hector)
$100-200: 4 re-buys (Bart, Slope, Bart, James)
$150-300: Hector eliminated
$200-400
$250-500: Josh eliminated, Slope eliminated
$300-600: Bart eliminated, Danny eliminated
$400-800: Matt eliminated
James had the lead going into heads-up play with Clint, so they chopped the pot $175-125. It was supposed to be split $200-100.
The official standings look like this:
1st - James
2nd - Clint
3rd - Matt (same bubble spot as always)
4th - Danny
5th - Bart
6th - Slope
7th - Josh
8th - Hector
We had a good time and everyone said they want to make this a normal thing. Hopefully we can get a game together once or twice a month.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Give Thanks For Poker
One of my new favorite things about Thanksgiving is playing cards that night in Weatherford. In 2010, I won $120 on Thanksgiving and this year I more than doubled that.
The most interesting thing to happen at this year's game was I flopped four aces while holding pocket aces. I've had four aces before and I've flopped quads before as well, but I've never flopped the biggest of pairs while holding the only other two in the deck. The overwhelming mix of emotions I felt is near undescribable. To see a pair of aces in your hand is already a great boost to one's confidence, but to then see the final two aces roll over in the first three cards makes your mind go crazy.
However, the best part of flopping my four aces was that I actually made some money off of it. My buddy Jay bet the flop and the turn. I then made a bet that would have put him all in on the river and out of friendship and mutual respect talked him out of calling. He wasn't going to call anyway, but it was still a nice gesture on my part. I ended up making about $70 on the hand.
I profited $245 in four hours. This gave me an hourly rate of $61.25 and brings my total for 2012 to $1,155.
The most interesting thing to happen at this year's game was I flopped four aces while holding pocket aces. I've had four aces before and I've flopped quads before as well, but I've never flopped the biggest of pairs while holding the only other two in the deck. The overwhelming mix of emotions I felt is near undescribable. To see a pair of aces in your hand is already a great boost to one's confidence, but to then see the final two aces roll over in the first three cards makes your mind go crazy.
However, the best part of flopping my four aces was that I actually made some money off of it. My buddy Jay bet the flop and the turn. I then made a bet that would have put him all in on the river and out of friendship and mutual respect talked him out of calling. He wasn't going to call anyway, but it was still a nice gesture on my part. I ended up making about $70 on the hand.
I profited $245 in four hours. This gave me an hourly rate of $61.25 and brings my total for 2012 to $1,155.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Weatherford (November 3)
With plans to go to Canton this past Sunday, my wife was expecting plenty of money to buy Christmas presents for the family and decorative things for the new house. We've had a few unexpected expenses with our new home, but I was (begrudgingly) willing to give Joanna $300 to spend. However, after my bountiful win in Weatherford on Saturday night I had no qualms about giving her $400 to have fun and get what she needed to make our house a home.
I was able to win $600 in Weatherford, playing for only five hours. My hourly rate of $120 raised my year-to-date statistics considerably.
It would be nice to say that my amazing skill at poker is what won me all the pots, but in all honestly I had a lot of luck going for me. I had the Broadway straight twice, once against the second nuts which resulted in an all-in, and another all-in hand where my quad fives beat a flush. It was a lucky night.
I did make one bad fold that is worth mentioning. I had A-K and after the flop came out with A-Q-4 I made a $10 bet and was check-raised to $30 from the guy on my right. I called the additional $20 to see the turn, which was a 4. This doesn't help me at all because if I was beating him before, I am most likely beating him now. He likely doesn't have a single four to be beating me with three-of-a-kind because he wouldn't check-raise with bottom pair. The only thing I can imagine him having now is A-4 for a full house, A-Q for two pair, or A-X with a high card for the kicker, which if it isn't the king then it doesn't matter what the card is as the queen is now his kicker. I can only beat the A-X.
He bets another $30. I can take this one of two ways. Either he was making a semi-bluff with his check-raise and my call has scared him but he has to bet something to not look entirely weak, or he still has a big hand and isn't worried about being drawn out on. I made a snap call without really thinking things through.
The river came with a card that didn't change much. It was lower than a queen and didn't create any flushes or straights. My opponent made another bet of $30. At this point I figured I was beat and he was begging for a call. Sometimes I will make a call like this when I know I am beat but the pot odds are worth calling, and other times no amount of money can get me to make a call if I know I am beat. I elected to fold the hand as I didn't want to throw good money after bad. It turns out I had the best hand as my opponent held A-9 and his kicker with the two pair was the queen.
That was a disappointing hand that would have ended up giving me more than another $150 in my stack with the money I would have won from him and gotten back from my calls on the flop and turn. Oh well. You can't expect to make every correct call or fold in a game. In fact, if you do end up making no mistakes you are probably playing too few hands in a night and gambling too little to make any considerable money.
There may be a game on Thanksgiving that I will be going to. That will likely be my second-to-last game for the year. I am currently up $910 for the year and making about $11 an hour playing cards. Not great, but better than losing.
I was able to win $600 in Weatherford, playing for only five hours. My hourly rate of $120 raised my year-to-date statistics considerably.
It would be nice to say that my amazing skill at poker is what won me all the pots, but in all honestly I had a lot of luck going for me. I had the Broadway straight twice, once against the second nuts which resulted in an all-in, and another all-in hand where my quad fives beat a flush. It was a lucky night.
I did make one bad fold that is worth mentioning. I had A-K and after the flop came out with A-Q-4 I made a $10 bet and was check-raised to $30 from the guy on my right. I called the additional $20 to see the turn, which was a 4. This doesn't help me at all because if I was beating him before, I am most likely beating him now. He likely doesn't have a single four to be beating me with three-of-a-kind because he wouldn't check-raise with bottom pair. The only thing I can imagine him having now is A-4 for a full house, A-Q for two pair, or A-X with a high card for the kicker, which if it isn't the king then it doesn't matter what the card is as the queen is now his kicker. I can only beat the A-X.
He bets another $30. I can take this one of two ways. Either he was making a semi-bluff with his check-raise and my call has scared him but he has to bet something to not look entirely weak, or he still has a big hand and isn't worried about being drawn out on. I made a snap call without really thinking things through.
The river came with a card that didn't change much. It was lower than a queen and didn't create any flushes or straights. My opponent made another bet of $30. At this point I figured I was beat and he was begging for a call. Sometimes I will make a call like this when I know I am beat but the pot odds are worth calling, and other times no amount of money can get me to make a call if I know I am beat. I elected to fold the hand as I didn't want to throw good money after bad. It turns out I had the best hand as my opponent held A-9 and his kicker with the two pair was the queen.
That was a disappointing hand that would have ended up giving me more than another $150 in my stack with the money I would have won from him and gotten back from my calls on the flop and turn. Oh well. You can't expect to make every correct call or fold in a game. In fact, if you do end up making no mistakes you are probably playing too few hands in a night and gambling too little to make any considerable money.
There may be a game on Thanksgiving that I will be going to. That will likely be my second-to-last game for the year. I am currently up $910 for the year and making about $11 an hour playing cards. Not great, but better than losing.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Weatherford (September 22 & October 6)
I haven't had time to update this like I should. In September I lost $300 at the Weatherford game and this month I won $310. Not a good way to play.
I hit a two-outer early in the night to prevent a re-buy and was able to continue to build on my stack throughout. I won the final two pots of the night that resulted in $100 extra dollars that I wouldn't have had.
For the year I am up $310, which is odd because after the $300 September loss I was at a break-even point for the year. I am earning $4.29 an hour playing cards. This is not near the amount I want to be at.
I hit a two-outer early in the night to prevent a re-buy and was able to continue to build on my stack throughout. I won the final two pots of the night that resulted in $100 extra dollars that I wouldn't have had.
For the year I am up $310, which is odd because after the $300 September loss I was at a break-even point for the year. I am earning $4.29 an hour playing cards. This is not near the amount I want to be at.
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